June Fitness Challenge

Who's ready for a fitness challenge?!

I'll admit, the last month has not been my most glorious when it comes to my activity level. I've ended this month feeling a bit more like a bump on a log than I'd like so I decided it was time to revamp my workout plan and start doing things that will help me reach one of the "resolutions" I set about 6 months ago.

I'd really like to have a dedicated workout 5-6 nights a week... right now I manage about 3-4  but really would like to bump those numbers up. Now, I know everyone has their own starting point and right now this might seem a little crazy to some and too easy to others, but keep a couple things in mind: one, this is supposed to be a challenge. two, you can modify anything you'd like (or message me and we'll figure something out) to make it work for you. This is, after all, just my personal plan.

How it works:

we're shooting for 6 days a week. 4 days of cardio, 2 days of strength training and a daily "AA Challenge". Sunday will always be your rest day!

Short run days: 
This run will be my timed run. Set a route and run the same route, tracking your time. I'm gonna shoot for something around 3-3.5 miles.

Upper Body: 
I'll upload what my plan is for this day when i figure it out. - just pick your favorite upper body workout and go at it... finish up with 20 minutes of cardio. :)

Intervals:
I'll probably be at the gym and on these days, slaving away on the elliptical for 45-60minutes. i'll keep everyone updated on this, especially after week 1. (in case this needs adjusting)

Lower Body:
I'll upload what my plan is for this day when i figure it out. - just pick your favorite lower body workout and go at it... finish up with 20 minutes of cardio. :)

Stairs:
Find the most grueling set of staircase in your area and run up and down them two at a time, as fast as you can, for a half hour.

Long Run: 
Take whatever your short run was and add at least a mile to it. Take this run slow, enjoy it...let it help get rid of the ache and remind yourself that you get to rest the next day! ;)

And last, but certainly not least....

Daily Abs and Ass challenge!

Things to note:

Don't feel like you have to do everything in one set - if you have to break it up throughout the day thats TOTALLY okay! this is just supposed to be that extra push.

Form is most important! Theres no point doing 100 shitty anythings... and you certainly dont want to hurt yourself. Do as much as you can, the best you can do it!

If you cant do all of something, make sure you track it anyway... dont be discouraged by not doing something, be encouraged by watching yourself progress. Just try your best

and finally....

LET ME KNOW IF YOU DO THIS WITH ME!!!! I'll be posting before and afters :)

Baked Potato Bar

I’m not sure how extensively I’ve mentioned my job at work or the fun things that I’m in charge of there but I figure this is as good a time as ever to give a little more detail on what I do for my “real” job. Sometime shortly after I was hired, I was made the leader of the team that does the company event planning, naturally. 😜

 

I REALLY enjoy this portion of my work, granted it can be rather consuming of my personal time but nonetheless its something I’m thankful to be involved in.

 

A week before I was planning on leaving for my vacation I thought it’d be a great idea to host a baked potato bar as a staff appreciation lunch. it actually turned out to be a total hit and who knew you could cook potatoes in a cooler!? I sure as heck didn't.

 

I spent all of Tuesday and Wednesday prepping for this thing, making salad, chilies, chopping up toppings, and 4:45am rolled around Thursday morning at which point I was required to pull myself out of bed and being baking potatoes. I can honestly say this was the first (and hopefully last) time that I've found myself wondering “do I sleep in another 15 minutes or get up to bake potatoes”. Considering how exhausted I was by the end of this I’m a little surprised nothing went majorly wrong. As a matter of fact, the only thing that would have made this better was more bacon and if the potatoes were a little less cooked when I tossed them in the cooler, but even then, NO ONE complained.

 

This was definitely an event that had me (and hopefully everyone else) a bit more excited about the possibilities that company events hold. I really do appreciate all of my co-workers and I feel blessed to be in such a (controlling) position, in which I have the ability to let them know their work is appreciated.

 

All the managers at the company ended up pulling me into their office this week to give me a thank

 

you card and a gift which really made me feel loved. It was a great reminder that not only does hard work pay off, but also that the good things that you put out into the world come back to you - maybe not immediately, and maybe not how you’d expect them, but they do. 😊

 

 

Something new...

So I think I've officially decided I’m going to be adding a new section of updates to my blog. I haven't a solid idea for the frequency in which I'll post about this topic but its a major portion of my life that I generally speaking, choose not to share with people.

 

Fitness, exercise, healthy eating - its my life.

 

a bit of background:

 

I grew up my entire life as a “fat kid”. Seriously. FAT KID - right here! it wasn't even until I was almost 18 that I really decided to do something about my life.

 

I grew up in a house where my weight was seen as hereditary. I was just a big kid.. my dad’s family was big, my family was big, I was big - I mean it all made a little sense... I started developing health problems around the age of 10, more specifically I was diagnosed with PCOS, a syndrome which is greatly weight related, that not only causes cysts on your ovaries, but is accompanied by a slew of other issues, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, etc...That's a lot for a 4th grader to be handed.

 

I spent nearly the next 8 years trying to lose weight every way imaginable. my parents and doctors tried fat blockers and nutritionists.... I was young and being bounced around... it was really hard for me to get a grip on what any of it meant and more importantly what baring my weight had on my value as a person. It was something that I didn't only struggle with on the surface... I wasn't your typical insecure adolescent.. I had serious value issues. I felt broken, sick and unlovable. my value became so tied to my appearance that my hate for my body became a hate for everything that I was. 

 

How long can a person survive while hating themselves so much?

 

I’ll never forget the moment I TRULY decided I HAD to change my life. Its impossible to allow that memory to slip from my mind... I was out at Snoqualmie falls and had taken a 1 mile hike down to the bottom of the waterfall.. it didn't seem like an issue at the time... however, the return to the car would be a relatively steep one mile walk uphill... at the time I was close to 300 pounds. That mile KILLED me. Not only was I out of breath, it broke me down mentally. I wanted nothing more than to walk and talk with my boyfriend at the time and instead my chest was heaving, my eyes were watering, and I wanted to be left alone so I could walk to the car on my own. “go on ahead of me, I'll just meet you at the car”  it was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life... I was ashamed.

 

At this point, I had found a new level of desperation. My mom took me to sign up for Jenny Craig, and on our first weigh in I was tipping the scales at 280. when they asked me my goal weight, I told them I'd be happy with 50 pounds, in reality, I wanted to be down 100 but doubted the reality of that goal. I mean, my doctors thought I'd always be fat, my parents said it was my genetics, I'd been trying for years to accept that I would go through the rest of my life being bigger....the idea that this was all within my control was incredibly foreign.

 

I stayed with Jenny Craig for about a month and in just that time lost around 20 pounds (I miss how quickly weight came off back then😜) That was all it took to kickstart me and get me to  understand that this crazy idea of being ”average” was actually not so crazy. I had learned what a normal serving of food looked like and from that point forward everything else seemed to fall exactly into place.

 

Fast forward 4 years:

 

I’m now 21 (September is coming fast! cant believe its almost another year gone) and weigh around 200. I went from a size 24/26 to a size 10/12 and all of it was through a lifestyle change, and I don't just mean the food I put into my mouth or the number of hours I log at the gym; It started with my perception of the impossible. It started with redefining the perspective of my life, from something I was born into to something I was creating.

 

So have you caught on to the new topic?

 

FITNESS!!!! - Health and well-being in all of its aspects.

 

Stay tuned!

 

 

Hiking Little Si

 

Saturday was a beautiful kick off to May here in Washington. it was honestly almost too hot for my NW tastes but the sun is always welcomed here!

 

Meg and I decided to venture out for a little hike, originally planning on going to Mount Si, but after some serious advice against it, we found ourselves in the parking lot of Little Si. I'm going to be honest here, Mount Si would have been better suited for what I was looking to get out of a hike but I'm not going to complain about a pretty hike on a beautiful day with my sister. where's the sense in that?

 

The trail was pretty busy and we were extremely lucky to find parking in the second lot... the top was crowded and there was only one good view.... but again, who's complaining? it was a good day.

Lesson learned and now when I reach the top of Big Si I can look back and know that I've conquered them...in order :P

 

Ben Howard

Okay I only snapped a few pictures at the show and when I finally get the videos onto my laptop I'll link them onto here but Ben Howard was AMAZING! He's definitely one of those artists you NEED to see live. There's nothing like it. I highly recommend it!

I also sat next to this awesome gal who inspired that month's cupcake (which will be coming in a future post) She was really a pleasure to talk to and it was great t.

I really cant get over how amazing this show was. Each of the band members played 4 different instruments, I swear! it was remarkable to watch! I cant wait for him to come back to town!

New Car

 This is my new baby.

 

Not even a year ago I posted a blog about my new little red wagon.... that wagon drug me through hell and back and last month, when news came that I was having transmission problems, I had to let it go... it was bittersweet but a learning experience if nothing more....

 

the past is the past and THIS is my new Mazda 2. I LOVE IT! its perfect for me in every way and i'm so happy that i'm not dealing the hassle of a car that is constantly breaking down. I bought this beauty with 26 miles on it  - april 13th.. I've already put over a thousand miles on her and I must say... I think we have a long and adventurous future in store. : )

Laptop Love

So I couldn't be happier with my laptop and you know what that means? it needs to be well taken care of! I immediately started looking for cases but... do you have any idea how not cute a lot of them are... I was really having a hard time finding something even just to cover it that was really worth the money and that's when I decided to put my sewing machine to use.

I made this little sleeve thing to cover it but I'm not entirely satisfied with this one so I'll be giving it another go (plus I found the most amazing fabric store near my house and I got a great piece of fabric for the lining)

I'm also making something for my mom's tablet for mothers day :) Hope she likes it.

Back in Business

Hello out there! Can anybody hear me?! Are you ALIVE?


phew... I made it through the dark ages! The times of computer blackout are over and I am well on my way to learning the in's and out's of this fancy little laptop. Thank you Dell for producing something I'm currently loving so much!!


That said, there's a lot to catch up on.

I'll probably take some time this weekend to sit down and do a real post but with mothers day coming up I might be a little strapped for time.

My final interview/orientation for the YWCA position is this Thursday and my trip to Arizona is right around the corner! Can't wait to really get this thing caught up.

Hope everyone out there is doing well.